Layers
by 1tT4k3sTw0
Summary: A Zootopia Shrek AU. Judy Hopps is a self-acclaimed knight who suddenly finds herself fetching a prince in 'distress' to reclaim homes for predators. But the prince turns out to be a sarcastic rabbit who doesn't wish to be saved and has a secret he isn't scared to share.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1: Break the Mold

Judy wasn't one to shy away from the unexpected; she just came to not expect the unexpected.

Her life was a lonely but scheduled thing. She woke up, ate breakfast, tended to the small garden where she grew her food, making sure her small cottage that lived in a nice clearing in the woods was clean (cause this wasn't a long list to begin with), ate lunch, read her books, swam in a pond not too far from her home, ate her dinner then went to bed. The only thing keeping her from dying of boredom was her training.

When she wasn't doing the chores listed above she was practicing her skill with a sword and her fists, creating fake enemies out of bales of hay and logs. One could consider this a particularly depressing existence but Judy would take it any day over returning to Bunnyburrow and being average rabbit.

But she was getting off topic.

The point was when she went out into the woods she did not expect to nearly be ran over by a chubby cheetah that was fleeing from a flock of rams. When the terrified feline spotted her he gently jumped behind her, trying to use her back as a hiding place.

The chasing rams came to a halt when they saw Judy, the rabbit saw they were all dressed in the armor of the nearby kingdom Duloc.

Judy straightened her spine, seeing the cheetah was a victim and it was part of her fate to be his hero.

"You need to step aside, rabbit," the lead ram told her.

"Why's that? It's _my_ land we're in." She felt the cheetah give a surprised/grateful look to the back of her head.

The ram pulled out a scroll and unrolled it, saying in a regal voice that Lady Bellwether had decreed all predators were to be moved to a specific location in the kingdom.  
"He can stay here," Judy stated. The rams didn't know how to react to that, they blinked at each other and Judy could tell they weren't the brightest of the flock.

But the lead ram decided his answer was brute force and he held up the spear in his hoof, pointing it to Judy's chest and the cheetah behind her let out a squeak of fright.

"By the order of Lady-" he began but before he finished his words Judy's leg shout out as a gray blur and kicked the spear out of the ram's hands, sending the weapon spiraling into the air. Judy held her paw out and the spear landed smoothly in her palm, when it did so she jumped in shocked delight, grinning at the weapon, " _That actually worked_! I've been trying to get that right for months-I-I mean-" she cleared her throat and held the spear under the lead ram's chin; the flock had been shocked into silence by her spear trick. "This is my home and it is not on Duloc land, while the cheetah is here he has sanctuary but you do not. So you best be away to where your lady can protect you before I shear your wool to make winter clothing."  
The rams' eyes widened in alarm and they slowly shuffled away from her and the cheetah and away from Judy's home. As soon as they vanished beyond the trees the cheetah lifted Judy into his arms and hugged her to his round belly, nearly suffocating the rabbit and making her drop the spear.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you_!" he cheered, sounding to be close to tears. "You saved my life!"

"It-it was no problem," Judy tried to push herself away from the cheetah's belly in order to breath, "But can you put me down?"

"Oh sorry," he released her so suddenly Judy almost fell onto her tail. "I'm Benjamin Clawhauser!"  
"Nice to meet you, Ben, I'm Judy Hopps." She picked up the spear and looked back up at the cheetah, "I guess you don't have anywhere to stay, huh?"

Clawhauser shook his head mournfully. "I thought so. Would you like to stay with me? Until you figure out what to do?" To be honest the rabbit was missing company.

He looked at her with big eyes, looking more like a kitten with every second, "You'd really let me stay with you?"

She chuckled, "Of course, come on."

.

Clawhauser was, for some reason, blown away by the little cottage Judy called home. Squeezing through the two small door and making himself comfortable on her couch, the largest piece of furniture she owned but it still wasn't big enough.

"Are you sure you're comfortable?" Judy asked, checking her pantry for something a predator could eat.

"This is really cozy and adorable I love it," he gushed, accepting the carrot muffin Judy offered. "And you have it all to yourself? Lucky."

"Lucky and lonely," Judy admitted, sitting in her armchair.

"Lonely?" Clawhauser echoed around his muffin, crumbs covering his chin and chubby cheeks. "Don't you have a family?"

"I do," Judy admitted, "But they said they had no place for a rabbit warrior, let alone one being a female so I moved away. Now I get to train my sword fighting skills as much as I pleased."

"That thing you did with the spear was so cool!" Clawhauser insisted with a smile that was almost bigger than his face. "The way you kicked it and it flew through the air and-and you caught it without even _looking_!"

"I know right!" Judy nearly squealed then forced herself to calm down. "It's what I do."

Judy made herself comfortable while Clawhauser chatted on about his life story, from how his parents were once popular athletes but all he had wanted to do as a cub was eat cake, all the way to when Lady Bellwether was sending predators to a specific piece of land, though that land was unknown.

"Those poor predators," Judy said, her ears falling.

"Yeah," Clawhauser said sadly. "I wish this place was large enough for the rest of them."  
"Maybe we can find a place for them to stay," Judy replied then glanced to her window, the sun was setting. "But that will have to wait until tomorrow."

Judy fixed a pallet on the floor for Clawhauser (he was too big to lie on the couch) and she bid him goodnight before retiring to her own bed, falling asleep with thoughts of adventure whirling through her head.

.

Judy was awaken by the sound of sniffing, she blinked her eyes open and could make out the sound of many voices. Stretching and yawning she opened her bedroom door, to see the rest of her cottage full of predators.

"What the-" Judy jumped back so suddenly she fell onto her rump, a few predators giving her weird looks.

Did Clawhauser decide to have a slumber party?"

"Ben?" she asked, wiggling through the little room she had until she ended up outside, where she saw tents all across her clearing and hundreds of predators loitering. She saw, with a sense of grief, that her garden had been pillaged. "CLAWHAUSER!"

Her yell caught the attention of the camp and all the predators dwindled into silence as the cheetah popped up from between a bear and jaguar and hurried over to Judy.

"I swear I didn't invite them," he said when he saw her expression.

"No one invited us," a black wolf with glowing green eyes stated sourly. "We were forced to come here."  
Judy's eyes widened, "Really?"

He nodded, "Lady Bellwether, she moved us off her land. We don't _want_ to be here."

Judy looked around at the predators and realized they all looked so sad, homesick. Her fingers curled into fists and determination fired in her gut. Sleeping would have to wait. It was time to prove she could be a warrior, be a hero.

"Who here knows the way to Duloc?"

All the sharp-toothed animals looked at her with surprise but only Clawhauser raised his paw.

"Alright then, let's go," Judy walked off her porch. "Everyone, don't get comfortable." She smiled, "You'll all be home soon."


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2: All You Have To Do

Lady Bellwether walked down the hall of her oversize castle, her little hooves clipping on the marble, a smug and triumphant smile pulling up her lips.

She had successfully pushed all the predators out of her land, and now her knights had finally found a little something she had been hunting down for over a year now.

She reached double doors made of iron and guarded by rams that stood at attention when they spotted her. With a flourish the sheep pushed the doors open, startling the knights that waited inside. But Bellwether's eyes were already on the oval of glass that stood against the wall.

"Get out of my way," she pushed her head knight Woolter away from the mirror and stood before it, staring with ecstatic glee at her reflection, her white wool matching perfectly with her crimson garments.

But then her image twisted and swirled like water her reflection changed into that of a…sloth?

Bellwether blinked, she hadn't seen that coming. "Uh-evening."  
"Hello…" the mirror sloth greeted, slowly blinking with a sleepy grin.

"Mirror, mirror-"

"I'm…Flash…"

Bellwether's brows rose, "Mirror, mirror, on the-"

"I am…the…magic…mirror."

"…..Mirror-"

"Here…to…help…you."

Bellwether slammed her jaw shut, expression impatient as she waited for a moment. When the sloth said no more she rushed her words out, "Magic mirror on the wall. Is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all?"

Bellwether's smile once again fell when the sloth slowly shook his head, "You…aren't a…queen."  
The ewe's eye twitched, "Excuse me?"

"But…" Flash kept talking as if she hadn't spoken. "You…can…be…all you…have to…do…is…marry…a…prince."

"Do I?" Bellwether mused, pursing her lips, "I suppose that shouldn't be too difficult. Are there any princes nearby?"

"Yes…" the sloth nodded.

"Excellent, where-"

"There…are…"

Bellwether let out a breath to calm her nerves, "Where?"

The mirror rippled and then it showed a dark tower, surrounded by a moat of lava and smoke obscuring the sky. The mirror focused on this image for a moment before it changed again and then it showed a portrait of a rabbit looking longingly out a window. This rabbit had scruffy russet fur with sooty ears and paws, something Bellwether had never seen in a rabbit before.

"Prince…Nicholas…Wilde…who is…guarded…by a…dragon."

And what an odd last name for a passive animal, but he would do. All she had to do was marry him. And she'd be a queen.

However the sheep was far too busy these days to go off and fetch this rabbit in his dragon guarded tower. She would simply need to send someone to bring him to her.

"There…" the sloth continued but Bellwether had already turned around.

"Woolter," she turned toward the ram. "Spread the word, I'll need to have someone go and fetch me my groom to be."

"Is...one…"

"One of your knights, my Lady?" the ram asked.

"Not necessarily," Bellwether went on, "Just someone willing to go and face such peril for their monarch."

"Thing…about…the night…"

"And cover up that mirror; it's giving me a headache."

A knight tossed a sheet over the mirror and the sloth went silent, his warning gone unheard.

.

"Woah," Judy gaped in disbelief, her ears falling down as she gazed at the sheer size of the colossal castle of Lady Bellwether. "That's…wow."

"I know," Clawhauser agreed before they continued toward the gates. "So um…what are you going to say to Lady Bellwether?"  
"I'm going to explain that her pushing the predators out of her land is unfair and that she should return their homes to them."

The cheetah gave her a doubtful look, "And you think she'll listen?"

"I've very persuasive," Judy replied. "I'm sure if I word it right she'll understand."

Five minutes later and Judy and Clawhauser were thrown before the hooves of the queen, spears aimed at their heads.

Bellwether, who was looking over a script, gave the bunny a bored look, though her lip curled when she saw Clawhauser. "Who are these riff-raff?"

"They tried to break in," one of the guards bleated.

Judy jumped to her feet, ignoring the spears pointed at her, "Now hold on one second!" She placed her hands on her hips and stood her ground with her back straight, "We did not break in! We came to talk to Her Majesty about a very important matter!"

Clawhauser, still on his knees nodded, "What she said." With a chubby finger he gently pushed a spear away with a nervous chuckle.

Bellwether arched a brow, now looking mildly interested, "What is this important matter, rabbit? Besides the fact that predator should be with the rest of his kind."  
Judy stepped protectively in front of the cheetah, "That's actually why we're here! All the predators have moved to my home."  
Bellwether blinked, "And I care because….?"

Judy flinched, brow furrowing at the queen's apathy. "You-you're the queen."

"Yes, and ninety percent of my people are prey. I'm going to look after the majority."

"But predators aren't dangerous!"

Bellwether rolled her eyes and leaned forward, "Listen peasant-"

"I'm a knight," Judy interrupted, her cheeks puffing in annoyance.

That made the ewe pause, her eyes thoughtful, "Is that so…"

One of the rams, Judy recognized him as one of the sheep who chased Clawhauser, "I've seen it myself, my queen."

Bellwether's lips turned up into a grin, "Just who I need."

Judy and Clawhauser tilted their heads in unison. "Pardon?" the rabbit asked.

The queen slipped out of her throne and sauntered over to stand before Judy, clasping her hooves together. "You want the predators off your land?"

"Well, actually I want their old homes ba-"

" _But_ I will need you to do something for me first…a _knightly_ duty."

The rabbit's ears shot up and her eyes widened, already completely and one hundred percent invested, "What do you need?"

"There is a…special someone I need you to fetch for me," the ewe's lip wobbled. "A-a _prince_ -my…my _fiancé_!" Suddenly Bellwether burst into tears, startling all the animals in the room. "WHAT HAVE I BECOME? I AM SO BITTER AND LONELY NOW! IF ONLY I HAD MY LOVE BY MY SIDE SURELY I WOULD-SURELY I WOULD-" She buried her face in her hooves, "But I am stuck here! My castle is a prison to _love_!"

Judy immediately wrapped her arms around the sobbing ewe, her own eyes glassy with tears. "That's so _tragic_! Don't worry, you can count on me! I will bring you your true love if it's the last thing I do!"

.

"So we're supposed to save a sheep from a tower surrounded by lava and probably dragon infested so the queen can have her happily ever after?"

Judy lifted her finger, " _And_ get all the predators their homes back."

"Oh yeah," Clawhauser said with round eyes, "I forgot that happened to. I get nervous when mammals point sharp things at me, I tend to bleed easily."

"Understandable." Judy patted his arm, "Don't you worry. I can protect you and the prince!" She linked arms with the cheetah, "So let's go on an adventure in the name of love!"


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3: Locked in a Tower

Nick really didn't mind the years of isolation that being stuck in an abandoned tower brought. Spending days on end in a dusty room with nothing but a book or two for entertainment was better than going out into a fox-hating world.

" _Really, I'm doing you a favor._ "

He lifted his soot-stained paw that currently lacked paw pads and sharp claws.

" _The world is so distrustful of foxes, but everyone loves bunnies!_ "

He pulled his pathetic, soft paw into a fist, wishing he had punched that 'fairy godmother' in the snout when he had had a chance. But no, now he was going to live the rest of his life cursed and alone. But again, it could be worse. The fact he had to spend the day as a rabbit showed how much his true self wasn't welcomed. That was fine, Nick could care less. He came to this tower of his own accord, even started up a rumor that a fire-breathing dragon was guarding him when really he hadn't seen a living soul for ages.

He stretched out on his bed and continued to count the stone blocks of his ceiling. "399…400…401…"

.

After a day of walking Judy and Clawhauser had arrived at their destination, climbing the rocky hill that served as a wall around the tower, and reaching the top they saw what they were looking for. The cheetah's jaw dropped when he saw the dark and foreboding castle that was surrounded by a chasm of boiling lava.

"Uh…" he took a step back, "Maybe I'll wait here." He turned to go back the way he had come.

Judy's ears shot up, "Oh no-no-no!" She hurried to jump in front of her friend, pressing her paws against his doughy belly. "We're here to save a prince, remember? So the queen will give all the predators their homes back?"

Clawhauser swallowed loudly and looked back at the castle, "That's easy for _you_ to say. You're a tiny rabbit-you wouldn't even be a mouthful to a dragon. But _me_ …I'm a five star meal!"

Judy took the cheetah's paws and tried to direct him to the bridge that led across the chasm, "Just stay by me, I'll protect you from any hungry beasts." He still looked unsure but followed after the bunny….until they breached the beginning of the bridge.

" _No_."

"Aw, _come on_!" Judy moaned, trying to push the cheetah onto the rickety bridge. "Where's your sense of adventure!?"

"It's not my sense of adventure that's the problem!" he whined, "It's the concept of gravity!"

Judy rolled her eyes, her feet leaving imprints in the dirt as she continued to push him onto the bridge. "Come on, Clawhauser! Don't tell me you're afraid of heights!"

"I'm not," he said simply and calmly before pointing a finger down. "I'm scared of being cooked alive by a lake of lava."

Judy let out a groan of exasperation, "That's it." She stepped back and kicked the cheetah's butt with both feet, sending him forward and onto the bridge; the cheetah threw his head into the air and let out a shrill scream.

" _ **AAAA**_ _AAAAAA_ AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…." Clawhauser's scream slowly faded into silence when the bridge showed no sign of giving. Judy stepped onto the bridge and nudged him forward, "See? Easy as pie."

"Oh, I could use some pie," he moaned as he slowly wobbled his way across the swinging bridge, holding his arms out as if in a balancing act. "Can we get some pie after we save the prince?"

Judy chuckled, walking with much more ease and confidence, not to mention speed. "Sure, we can have a nice picnic. I think the prince will appreciate that, poor thing being locked up here for so long."

"What do sheep eat?"

"Things like grass and hay, I think they like vegetables and fruit too."

Suddenly a gust of hot air send the bridge rocking, Clawhauser let out a high-pitched squeal similar to that of a female and fell to his belly, fur bristling.

"It's just the wind," Judy assured him, keeping her balance fairly well. "Get up." But Clawhauser didn't budge and Judy frowned, her brow furrowing. "You looked down, didn't you?"

" _Yes_ ," he moaned pathetically.

The rabbit nudged him with her foot, "Just keep shimmying forward."

"I don't want to die like this, Judy! There are so many things I haven't done yet! I want to eat chocolate cake and invent a new dessert and fall in love and maybe adopt a gazelle or something! I always thought gazelles were cute!"

Judy puffed, "You'll have plenty of times to do this now _move_." She nudged him with her foot again, harder this time and the force made Clawhauser's face hit one of the bridge's boards-a board that immediately broke off and fell down to the fiery gorge below.

"I AM NOT DYING TODAY!" Clawhauser suddenly jumped to his feet and ran across the bridge, not stopping when he reached the other side and vanished into the castle, still hollering. Judy blinked, startled, but then she remembered there could be a dragon in there and jogged the rest of the way off the bridge and into the castle.

Stepping inside she saw it was dim and musky, nose twitching and ears up and swiveling she looked this way and that, paw on the hilt of her small sword. "Clawhauser," she called out softly, scared to raise her voice. She could no longer hear the cheetah's screams, and she didn't know if that was a bad sign or not.

Judy walked across the dirty stone floor of what she guessed could've been a ballroom years and years and years ago. But she hardly had time to wonder about that. Hoping her friend would go where he assumed the prince was Judy found a flight of stairs and headed up. If fairy tales were anything to go by the prince would be in the tallest room of the tallest tower. She had quite a few steps to take.

.

Nick thought he had been imaging things when he had heard a scream, but when it came back a second time and much louder he realized someone was here. The thought made his soft rabbit fur bristle. He lived in a tower of a decaying castle surrounded by lava and hidden by rocky black hills. _What else did he have to do for mammals to leave him alone_?

He let out a groan and sat up, scratching the thick not coarse fur of his neck. How was he going to get rid of them? Well…he could always just lock his door and wait until they got bored and left. Yeah, that would work.

Locking his bedroom door Nick's long dark ears twitched when he heard a voice on the other side, sounding out of breath. "Hello? Clawhauser? Mr. Prince?"

Nick's brows furrowed. Was that a female? What was she doing here? He rolled his eyes-that was a stupid question. She was here to marry him and claim his 'fortune' as her own. That's what mammals did. He let out a disdainful snort. That was a mistake.

Whatever animal that girl was out there she had excellent hearing because suddenly there was a loud knock on his door that made him jump back.

"Hello?" she called from the other side, his doorknob wiggled as she tried to open the door. "Someone in there?"

Nick rolled his eyes again but was careful to be silent this time; he turned on his heel, heading toward his bed to wait until she got bored.

And then his door was kicked open.

Swearing flew off his lips as he whirled around, nearly flying out of his skin. His sturdy wooden door was now on the floor, lock broken, and at the now bare doorway was a…bunny. She had one long foot in the air, her leg trembling, clearly kicking a locked down open had taken its tool as she lost her balance and fell onto her rump.

"Are you _crazy_?" he snapped viscously, wishing he had more than his buck teeth to bare at her. "What is the _matter_ with you?"

But he didn't get an answer; he just got a violet-eyed rabbit staring at him with the dopiest look he'd ever seen. "Oh, wow…" she breathed softly.

Nick curled his lip in disdain, "What's the matter with you?"

"Huh? Oh!" she shook her head and jumped to her feet, recovered from breaking his private property. "Nothing! Are you the prince?"

Nick held his arms out and made a sarcastic show of looking around the empty room, "See anyone else here, Fluff?" His sarcasm quickly dropped when she grabbed his paw and dragged him out of the room.

"Excellent! Let's go!"  
Nick was so shocked they were already half way down the stairs before he forced them to a halt, pressing his paw against the cobwebbed infested wall. "Woah-woah- _woah_!"

The bunny nearly fell from the sudden stop; she turned and looked up at him, "What's wrong? Did we leave something?" She gasped, "Oh no! We left a precious heirloom didn't we?"

" _What_? No, I-"

She sighed loudly, interrupting him, "Great, let's hurry. I still have to find my friend before the dragon does."

She pulled him after her, proving to be disturbingly strong. And as they reached the bottom of the steps Nick felt a sense of dread and fear, after all those years stuck in a tower he never imagined he'd be kidnapped by some psychotic rabbit. He almost laughed at the absurdity.

But then they turned a corner and nearly collided with a large cheetah who screeched like a two year old little girl. Clearly the owner of the screams Nick had heard earlier.

"Clawhauser!" the bunny smiled at him, "Thank goodness you're okay!"

The cheetah, Clawhauser, placed his paws on his knees, catching his breath. "I was looking for you Judy; sorry I uh…lost my cool there for a moment." He looked up and spotted Nick, "That's not a sheep."

Nick scowled at him while the bunny-Judy-shook her head, "No, but he _is_ the prince we're looking for. Let's go before that dragon finds out we're here."

"Listen," Nick tried, "There isn't-" but Judy was already dragging him out of the castle and to the bridge. Nick sucked in a breath, "We can't make it over that!"

The crazy bunny actually had the audacity to roll her eyes, "You're both fraidy-cats! It's perfect saf-" her words cut short, the three were in the middle of the bridge when they saw the rope behind them starting to tear, soon it would snap off and send them down to the lava below. Judy let out a soft chuckle, "Run."

Nick didn't need to be told twice, pulling his own paw out of Judy's the three scattered forward, panic pushing them to move incredibly fast considering one of them was an overweight cheetah and the other a rabbit who didn't make jogging a habit. And they didn't stop running until they reached the other side of the hill, by then the bridge having fallen apart, no one would be going back to that abandoned castle.

When the three finally stumbled to a halt Nick turned a furious glare at Judy, ready to give her and the feline partner in crime a piece of his mind. But once again he was interrupted, Judy pointing an almost accusing finger at Nick. " _Clawhause_ r," her voice was…flustered. " _That_ wasn't in the job description."

Nick took in the rabbit's panic, add that with how flustered she was and… _Oh my God_. Clawhauser was looking between the two rabbits and then shrugged at Judy, his smile lopsided, "Maybe it's a perk?"

Now curious as well as frightened Nick stepped forward to stand before the rabbit whose ears turned red. "Something wrong with the mammal you kidnapped?"  
She shook her head so quickly her ears nearly smacked his nose. "No, no, no, I didn't kidnap you! I rescued you!" She pointed to the hill that hid his used-to-be home, "From the dragon."

Nick groaned in annoyance and smacked his paw against his forehead, "There _is_ no dragon."

Judy and Clawhauser blinked. "No dragon?" the cheetah echoed.

"No, I made it up."

Judy's brow furrowed, " _Why_?"

"Because I'm incredibly anti-social!" he shot back, "But apparently I didn't make that clear enough!" He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down, anger wouldn't rebuild that bridge. "So, what do you want?"

His sudden change in attitude only confused her, "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm a prince," he pointed out. "Didn't you know that? So what do you rescue me for, riches?"

Judy looked actually offended by the words, "I don't care about your _money_!"

He arched a brow and leaned forward, noses almost touching, "What then?" he asked in a completely unimpressed voice. "I suppose you want a kiss?"

The bunny jolted as if her soul had left her body, "K-k-kiss?" She stepped back a few feet, legs wobbling and probably would've fainted if Clawhauser hadn't caught her from behind.

Nick curled his lip, "I'll take that as a no."

With Clawhauser fanning her Judy stood up on sturdier legs and spoke, "I'm here to-to kiss you. I'm more of a delivery bun."

"Delivery bun?"

"Yes, you see I'm here to return you to Queen Bellwether."

Nick shook his head, "Never heard of her."

"Oh, she's a ewe, the ruler of Duloc," Judy explained, "She wants to marry you."

Nick turned away and sat on the nearest rock he could find, legs and arms crossed. "Then she'll have to get in line."

Judy frowned, "But she acted like she already knew you."

"Well, she lied," Nick cocked his head to the side and gave her a mocking smile. "What a surprise."

He watched in silence as Judy and Clawhauser walked away to whisper to each other, Nick would've eavesdropped if he cared what the two were saying. Besides he had a feeling they would tell them what they were talking about anyway. And sure enough a few minutes later Judy walked over, twiddling her thumbs and looking shy and awkward, odd considering she could kick down a locked door.

"So, it's come to our attention we might have been given inaccurate information," she explained.

"That's a smart way to say you two are idiots," Nick bared his buck teeth.

Judy's brow furrowed for a moment before continuing, "But we still think you should come with us. Who knows you might like Bellwether, and if you come with us you can help get predators there homes back."

And what did any predators ever do for Nick? He smirked at her, "No thanks."

Judy blinked, "Then…then what are you going to do? You can't go back to that tower."

"You made sure of that," he snarked. "No, you see this rock?" he patted the sun-warm surface he sat on. "This is a nice rock. I'm going to sit on this rock for the rest of my life and then one day I'll die. And then everything will be wonderful."

Judy frowned and looked to Clawhauser who had stayed silent, the cheetah shrugged hopelessly. She then turned back to Nick, "Mr. Prince."

"Stop calling me that."

"Your Majesty-"

"Nope."

"Sir-"

"My name is Nick."

" _Nick_. Please believe me when I tell you…this is for your own good."

He scowled at her, "Wha-ARE YOU DOING!?" His words came out as an indignant yell as Judy grabbed his arms and threw him over her shoulder, holding him easily as she turned and started away from the hill. "Come on, Clawhauser."

"Right behind you," the cheetah called, hurrying after them.

Meanwhile Nick continued to struggle. "You're both crazy! This is kidnapping! Let me go! I'm not marrying some ewe! _How_ are you so strong?! _You're a bunny_! This is insane and neither of you are even listening to me!"

Nick kept complaining for a long, long time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4: The Curse**

"I'm glad you've calmed down."

Judy's optimistic voice grated against the Knicks nerves. The rabbit was still thrown over her shoulder, no looking like a boneless sack of red fur. " _I'm glad you've calmed down_ ," Nick echoed in a mockingly dopey tone, a poor impersonation of Judy's voice.

Clawhauser, who was walking behind them, offered Nick a sweet smile. "Surely it's not that bad being out here. It's better than that spooky tower, surely."

"That tower never tried to man-handle me," he shot back.

Judy silently rolled her eyes. She knew it was best to get this incredibly anti-social rabbit to society. He was a jerk but he didn't deserve to be alone.

But her shoulder did deserve a break, "Nick, if I put you down do you promise not to run away?"

"I'm gonna answer that with my own question," he retorted. "Where would I go?"

Taking that as a promise that he wouldn't run off Judy let him go, Nick taking a few steps back as soon as he touched the ground. With arms crossed he glared at Judy as she rolled her sore shoulder.

"What do you eat?" he demanded.

Judy blinked at the odd question, "What rabbits usually eat. My favorite is carrots but I like lettuce too."

His dark brow furrowed, "But you're so strong."

Judy smiled at him, her heart thudding just a little bit faster. She wasn't used to getting the attention of attractive males (even if he acted like a mule), and it really wouldn't helped if Bellwether had warned her.

She tried to shrug casually, "I do a lot of exercises. I am a knight, you know."

Her good mood evaporated when he snorted, "Sure you are."

Judy sighed softly, she was used to that response, "For your information there's more to me than you think." She smirked, "You could say I have tons of layers."

"So you're an onion," he shot back, his smirk much meaner than her own.

Judy frowned but Nick wasn't done, "That explains why you stink."

Clawhauser let out an offended gasp, "She does not! I mean, yeah she made me cry, but that doesn't make her an onion!"

The two rabbits gave him weird looks, Judy in the edge of concern, Nick on the edge of a scowl. "When did I make you cry?" Judy asked with worry.

Clawhauser let out an emotional breath, "I won't lie to you, I cried a bit on the bridge."

Nick rolled his eyes when Judy started to insist that Clawhauser had been _so brave._ His green eyes fell on the darkening sky...he dug his blunt nails into his arms. It was almost time, how was he going to hide it? Judy and Clawhauser would see him and...and run. Nick's ears shot up and he pulled his lips back into a Cheshire Cat grin. He'd be free of these two soon enough.

Nick clapped his paws together, catching the attention of the other two. "So," he smiled, "Where are we staying for the night?"

Judy, thrown by his sudden cheerful mood, spoke, "Oh...um, if we can just find a place to start a fire..."

Nick's teeth were bared into a grin, "Best starting looking then."

.

The three found a stone clearing next to a cliff that gave a lovely view of the forest below and the clear sky. It even came with a small cave.

"You can sleep there," Judy offered Nick as they collected logs and grass for a fire.

Nick glanced at her, "Find me that dainty, hm?"

His words made Judy flustered and her words stumbled over her tongue, "I-I didn't mean-that is...you _are_ royalty."

"And _you're_ female," he pointed out.

He wad unfazed by Judy's scowl. "So?" she bit out.

"Yeah," he replied. "So?"

The two were interrupted by Clawhauser suddenly exclaiming in triumph. "I did it!" Sure enough a small flame had spurted to life on the pile of logs and grass.

Judy smiled at him like a proud mother, "That's great, Clawhauser!"

"It is great..." Nick replied, eyes on the now dark sky. "Surrounded by the crackling fire, a perfect mood to tell a story."

Judy and Clawhauser exchanged a look. "A story?" the cheetah echoed uncertaintly.

"Oh, yes," Nick smiled, sauntering past them to stand by the cliff side, his back to the darkening sky. "The story of a magical fairy."

Clawhauser already looked interesting but Judy's expression said she thought he was playing them.

"Once there was a fairy," Nick began. "Who constantly tricked animals into thinking she was good and only brought blessings. But in reality she brought curses. One day she visited a king and queen and their son-they were foxes. The fairy told them how the world found foxes dangerous and deceitful, something the family already knew. But she offered their son a chance, a chance at a better life, a chance for _love_ ," he nearly gagged at the last word. "Wanna know what she did?"

"Uh-huh," Clawhauser nodded, enthralled. Judy's expression was unreadable.

"She took away what made him a fox," Nick explained. "She changed him." He felt the moonlight on his fur. "So every day he wore a fake skin." He felt his bones start to shift. "But every night his true self gets to come out...and eat!"

The two's eyes bulged as Nick's limbs stretched, his teeth and claws sharpened, his ears shrunk and his tail grew. Fully formed into a fox and bathed in moonlight he released a violent snarl.

Clawhauser made a choking sound and fainted.

"WHOA!" Judy screamed.

And to Nick's shock she jumped toward him, standing right before him, no trace of fear in her eyes.

"I thought you were just being a jerk but..." her eyes looked him over and it made Nick's skin turn hot. "You're cursed."

He swallowed. Why wasn't she scared? "Yeah, but-"

"No wonder you lived all alone!" Judy's paws shot out and took his, making Nick jolt. He couldn't remember the last time his paw was held, and her fur was so _soft_.

"Is there a way we can break the curse?" Judy asked, her violet eyes shining with sincerity and care. And it made him _sick_.

Who wad she to care, she didn't know him! Who was she to take him out of an isolation where the only one to judge him was himself. And if she did care-why did it take her so long to come for him?

Nick ripped his paws out of her grip, his teeth bared. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO RUN AWAY!" He stomped away from her, crawling into the cave and curling into a ball. Mortification and shame grounded his teeth together, but there was a small part- a very small part- that was relieved she hadn't been afraid...


End file.
